Her eyes narrowed. “Perhaps I did not explain myself well enough. I intend to rule Kalshana. You can join me, or you can die. I’ll give you three days to think about it.”
Chapter 27: Auria
The light shimmered, and Bylur was gone. Another round of thunder rolled through the air. I winced, missing Bylur all over again.
The key he’d given me heated just enough to remind me I still had it. I pulled it out from under my bodice and gripped it, tight enough that the corners pressed uncomfortably against my palm. Bylur had said I could access his power with it. But how?
I squeezed it tighter, but nothing happened. I waved it around, like I’d seen the fae do when he attacked Ivodar. Still nothing. I dropped it against my chest. How was I supposed to guess how to use a fae artifact?
Read my journal.
I’d almost forgotten. My journal-obsessed fae wrote everything down. I dropped the key, letting it hang like a medallion over my bodice, slipped my dress shoes off, and ran barefoot out the door.
Ivodar loped alongside me as soon as I passed him.
“Ivodar?” I kept running, but I couldn’t believe he was here again. “Don’t you get a few days off to recover from being knocked unconscious yesterday?”
“Not necessary, my lady. Lord Bylur sent his best healers to me. Fae with a specialty in healing can condense months of recovery into seconds of time.”
“I’m glad.” I ran faster, trying to shake the memory of him collapsing on the floor. I’d worried that he might not recover at all, but my relief at seeing him was eclipsed by my fear for Bylur.
When we reached his study, I was out of breath—it had been months since I’d run from soldiers, and I clearly needed more exertion. The door was locked but, for the first time, I used the key to open a door. The process of turning the lock warmed my heart—Bylur gave me the key to every room in the castle and, if I could figure it out, the key to his magic.
I sat down at his desk and picked up the ink jar sitting on it. I opened the lid, hoping for a reminder of the faint ink smells that always hung on Bylur, but the scent was so overwhelming that I capped it immediately. I shouldn’t have wasted time with that anyway. I needed a journal. I opened the top drawer. His journal was the only thing in the drawer. Like Brielle had once said, everything he did was methodical and organized.
He’d only filled the first half of the journal and, near the end of his writing, I found a drawing of my key. The words under the drawing grabbed my attention:
I decided to do it. I already enchanted the key to open every door in the castles in Kalshana and Umbra, but last night Auria fell asleep in my arms. While I held her. She trusted her entire being to me and let herself fall unconscious whilst leaning on me. The degree of trust was overwhelming, especially considering her background. She has a thousand reasons to not trust anyone.
I stopped to wipe tears away from my eyes. Reading about his reaction to me made my emotions raw—everything from the words he wrote to the last time he touched my face. I wiped my eyes again and kept reading.
It took some experimenting, but I was able to enchant the key to bridge the space between our souls, similar to how a marriage bond binds two souls together, but not permanent in the same way. The key will now create a channel between us if I give it without reservation and she receives it the same way. I believe I trust her enough to give it to her with my whole heart. If she is willing to let me see her heart, she will be able to use my magic when she is wearing the key.
Auria, I have full confidence in your determination to break the curse. I also believe that if we get close to breaking it, Queen Daneira will find a way to separate us. In that event, I want you to have the confidence of using my magic. Open yourself up to it, know that it will never hurt you, and imagine what you would like it to do.
I have shadow magic and moon magic. You can create light and healing with the moon magic, and I believe you’ve seen my shadows enough to know what they can do.
BU
He initialled the end of each entry and started the next on a new page. I turned the page over. The lastentry was about the attack yesterday after I overheard the two fae discussing how they sold an artifact to Ephaltes. One line in that entry made me stop and reread it:
I do not have words to describe how glad I am that I gave her the key. If I had not felt her panic, I might have lost her.
But now I’d lost him.
I gripped the key, squeezing it until the corners poked my skin. No. I would not lose him. I would find a way to get him back.
The door that we hadn’t bothered latching flew open, and Dearan’s red hair identified him before I saw his face. “Bylur, I was thinking—”
He stopped abruptly when he walked into Ivodar. Then he looked at the desk and saw me. His brow wrinkled for a few seconds, and then his expression fell. “You saw him.”
My stomach knotted. “Yes.” I swallowed. “But Dearan, I’m not ready to lose him. How do I get him back?”
He shook his head. “You don’t. We had as good as lost him the moment she turned his magic on him.”
“What does that even mean?”
“He didn’t tell you?”
